Bill to levy foreign lorries

The Freight Transport Association has welcomed the publication of a Parliamentary Bill that will introduce a charge for foreign-registered vehicles using UK roads.

Under the HGV Road User Levy Bill all heavy goods vehicles of 12 tonnes and over will be required to pay a levy before being able to travel on UK roads. For UK operators the Bill confirms that this cost will be rebated through an equivalent reduction in Vehicle Excise Duty (VED). Operators of foreign registered vehicles will be required to pay the levy at a daily, weekly, monthly or annual rate, depending upon how long they intend their vehicles to remain in the country.

James Hookham, FTA's managing director of Policy & Communications said: “FTA has supported the idea of a charge on foreign vehicles for many years as a way of addressing at least partly the competitive differences between British registered operators and foreign registered vehicles.”